Star Trek Into Darkness: A Review

From the same team that brought us the awesome Star Trek movie in 2009, which shattered box office records and introduced the Star Trek franchise to a whole new generation, comes a sequel that from the trailer alone promises to be as kick ass as its predecessor. On all counts, this sequel was a winner and I would not object to seeing another Enterprise adventure to round out a trilogy in the near future.

The first movie was basically an origin story — how Captain Kirk was recruited into the Star Fleet and eventually became the captain of the USS Enterprise, and earned the trust and friendship of his entire crew. In Into Darkness, the story delves deeper into the Star Trek universe to bring out one of the Enterprise’s most dangerous arch nemesis — Khan/John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch, TV’s Sherlock), who stages a one man assault on the Star Fleet for an unknown reason. As the assault results in countless casualties, Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) are sent out on a mission to hunt down the terrorist in an abandoned Klingon territory to neutralize him with the use of 72 photon torpedoes made of advanced technology yet unexplored by man. During the mission, the Enterpise, meet some unexpected complications when its engine suffers malfunction and the crew is stuck in enemy territory. As the plot thickens, Kirk learns from Khan the real purpose of his mission and a web of lies is uncovered within the ranks of the Star Fleet.

I am not a fangirl of the franchise Trekkie/Trekker but I am a big fan of director J.J. Abrams (Alias, Super 8, Mission Impossible, Fringe), and screenwriters/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who co-created one of my favorite television series Fringe. What they brought to the big screen was the same level of intellect and dynamism that is needed to pull off a successful Sci Fi feature, which was first evidenced by the first Star Trek movie.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie because it did not dwell too much into the technicalities of the rivalry between Khan and the Enterprise. The story basically explained the roots of Khan’s drive for vengeance and explored the depth of Kirk and Spock’s friendship. It was pretty basic but the approach was just so dynamic that one does not get lost in the intricacies of the characters’ relationships that has been explored for years on television. Instead, fans and non fans alike are given a chance to understand and enjoy the movie at the same time.

What I liked best about this movie was the amount of comedy incorporated into the script. The dialogues were so witty and the cast just pulls it off so well, with a rapport and chemistry that they established in the first movie transcending well into the sequel. The thing was, the movie did not merely revolve around Kirk and Spock alone as the main characters but it also became about their interaction with the rest of the crew. Kirk and Bones (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Spock, Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Kirk, Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Kirk, Spock and Zulu (John Cho).Their chemistry was just so strong that the characters were able to play off each others’ strength at every turn. Everybody just came together to form a very strong unit which the Enterprise was all about. Despite the fact that they were being shot down by madmen, being attacked by terrorists, the crew went the extra mile to save their ship, save each other and save their family, which was the very essence of the franchise that connected them to their very loyal fans.

Abrams was also able to balance out the exciting parts of the movie with the more dramatic parts providing a variation in the tone of the movie. When I heard that it was going to be super action packed, I was afraid that it would go the way of G.I. Joe Retaliation where the entire film just seemed like a blur of torpedoes, ammunition and firepower but I should have known better.

Benedict Cumberback and Chris Owen of the American Pie franchise. (image from cheezburger.com)

The only thing that kind of bothered me was that British actor Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan. I do not question his acting chops for playing the main villain of the piece but he just looked so much like the Sherminator in American Pie that in spite of being all superhuman and unemotional, I couldn’t take him quite as seriously as I should. (As I surf the web, it would seem that I was not the only one who had the same observation) I thought that Michael Fassbender would have done better for the part, had he not been identified with another Sci Fi origins movie, Prometheus.

All in all, I loved Star Trek Into Darkness. I thought it was completely badass. The stars may have gained weight (yes, all of them) but this did not stop them from delivering a great ensemble performance that even if scrutinized under a microscope would still hold up as great individual performances as well. I still liked the first movie better but Into Darkness felt more like Star Trek to me. Kudos to everyone behind this kickass feature.

Here comes the Boom: A Belated Review

I am guilty of holding out on watching Here Comes the Boom on the cinema despite the fact that I think Kevin James is one of the most talented comedians out there because I fervently dislike Charice, who plays one of the students in this movie. When my brother finally saw it on video and told me it was good, I finally caved and set aside my reservations for the better part of two hours and dived in.

Here Comes the Boom sees Kevin James playing  a disillusioned Biology high school teacher Scott Voss , who, in a bid to save the school’s music program, the dreams of  the school’s young musicians, and the job of one of his colleagues, decides to fight in the MMA to raise the funds needed to sustain the program. With the help of one of his evening class students, gym trainer and former fighter Niko (Bas Rutten), the school’s music coach Mr. Streb (Martin Winkler, The Waterboy), and Ms. Flores (Salma Hayek, Grown Ups), Scott sets out to achieve the impossible – learning mixed martial arts and facing off with some of the sport’s toughest fighters to achieve his goal.

Here Comes the Boom is a typical underdog story, where an average guy tries to save the day, faces an insurmountable challenge and gets the girl. What makes Here Comes the Boom fresh is that it incorporates the budding sport of mixed martial arts into the story. The fact that the UFC allowed the film to use the franchise as its backdrop was genius because it not only promoted the UFC but at the same time, it lent an air of authenticity to this popcorn movie and made it really cool.

Bas Rutten was hilarious as Niko, and one wouldn’t think that he was one of the best power punchers in the UFC with the way he was goofing off.  There were also familiar faces like Stitch, Joe Rogen, Mike Goldberg, Bruce Buffer and Herb Dean. As a fight fan, I appreciated the number of UFC fighters who turned up in this picture for cameos. Chael Sonnen, Mark Muñoz, and Brian Stann were only some of the popular fighters who played guys who got their asses kicked.  It’s great about these guys’ down to earth attitude. They don’t take their stardom too seriously and this is the reason why fight fans connect to the UFC better.

Throughout the movie, it was also noticeable that there were camera angles that showed a fighters’ perspective/line of vision before he got body slammed, or caught in submission moves that gave audiences a closer look at what goes on in the cage, and during training. I thought it was a great move on the part of the director.

Kudos to Kevin James for working hard on this movie.  He was still funny as ever (although the jumping up on the desk part was kind of cheesy) although he lost a lot of weight for the role.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie. It wasn’t the typical Happy Madison fare comedy but it had a lot of great highlights despite the generic premise of the film. The film had good energy and it was a great way to salute the hard work that goes behind teaching as a profession and fighting as a sport. I, for one, thought that this message was really cool.

P.S. If you think that this story is impossible to happen in real life, think again. Former Middleweight champ Rich “Ace” Franklin was a high school teacher before he shifted to MMA.

The Host: Movie Review

So I didn’t get to see Stephenie Meyer’s fifth book to movie feature during its regular run. And I didn’t read the book beforehand either. While I didn’t love it, and I didn’t exactly hate it, I admit that I felt like it was a watered down version of Twilight, but with werewolves and vampires subplanted with aliens who possess human bodies.

The Host is the story of Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), one of the remaining humans on Earth after parasitic aliens have taken possession of most of mankind. During one of their runs, Melanie is cornered by “Seekers” and she chooses to end her life rather than become an alien host. However, instead of dying, she survives and the soul called Wanderer is placed in her body. As Wanderer tries to gain control of the body, Melanie fights back and gives her “guest” a taste of what being human is really like. She compels Wanderer to return to the resistance, where the love of her life Jared (Max Irons) and her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) are hiding. Things get complicated when Wanderer falls for Ian (Jake Abel), another member of the group and a vengeful Seeker (Diane Kruger) remains on their tail.

The Host had all the ingredients to make it a blockbuster hit. It had a great cast of hot young stars, a great soundtrack and the story was based on a popular piece of young adult literature from the author of the Twilight franchise. However, none of these elements were enough to save the film from itself,  since it was basically a generic YA love story that felt like a composite of other better plotted Sci fi novels, but with less depth and detail.

The film was not without its strengths. Max Irons and Saoirse Ronan had great chemistry, true. But this strength was not enough to compensate for my annoyance at both the characters of Melanie, who came off as quite abrasive and manipulative to Wanderer; or the shallowness of Jared’s character.  In truth, I kind of liked the character of Wanderer better, as with Ian, the supposedly secondary character of the piece as they proved that they had more depth and had a better story than the two leads, whose storyline basically revolved around kissing and groping each other.

All in all, The Host was very uneventful and insubstantial. Many opportunities were lost because the story in itself was unimaginative at best and perhaps written to prove that Stephenie Meyers had something up her sleeve apart from the Twilight saga. Even the ending of this film was the height of cheesiness. Don’t get me wrong. I read all the  Twilight books and loved them. I even watched all of the Twilight films and thought the last one was good. But Sci Fi is not really Meyer’s forte. In itself, the genre is quite tricky and complicated. It’s not just regular fiction.

My advice? No more sequels to this one, please.

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia Review

I’m kind of surprised that The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia was getting bad reviews from both critics and viewers. I must admit that I liked the original movie, released in 2009 by the same studio (Gold Circle) and thought that the sequel was a pretty decent horror flick.

Ghosts of Georgia is based on the true story of the Wyrick family, who move into a remote home near the woods in 1993 and encounter spirits of black slaves that are trapped in the property. Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill) plays the role of Andy, the father of the household, while Abigail Spencer takes on the role of Lisa, his clairvoyant wife who tries to deny her gift of communicating with the dead. The adorable Emily Alyn Lind plays Heidi, their little girl who shares her mother’s abilities to whom the spirits manifest, and Katee Sackoff  is Joyce, Lisa’s sister who can also see through the veil.

Ghosts of Georgia is very different from its predecessor in the sense that the original Haunting dealt with demonic possession whereas Ghosts was a pretty straightforward ghost story. While the story was admittedly predictable, I thought the execution was very good. It had a great set up leading up to the supernatural scenes. The pacing was good and there was ample time to prepare audiences for the shocking moments.

The casting was spot on, and despite the limited number of characters, the actors portrayed their parts well, especially Emily and Chad. They had great chemistry as father and child. On the other hand, I didn’t like the character of Lisa but I thought the rest of the characters pulled their weight.

All in all, I wouldn’t go on to say that Ghosts of Georgia shot up to my list of favorite horror flicks but like the original movie, it was not a clunker, especially for a limited budget release. I have seen way way worse. It was just too bad that people did not respond to the movie as well as expected.

Still, I would probably go see the third movie in the trilogy The Haunting in New York because of the strength of the first two features in the franchise. I just hope that it gets a better reception than this flick.

Iron Man 3: Movie Review

Forgive me for this belated review. I started writing this two weeks ago and I only got to finish today because things have been a bit busy lately. That being said, I will proceed now to the actual post.

It comes as no surprise that most cinemas have completely filled their slots with Iron Man screenings. In many malls, there are no other movies being featured except for Tony Stark’s return to the big screen. Fans have been waiting for this third installment and after the sheer awesomeness of the first two, who can blame them? Certainly not me, because I was one of the legions who lined up in the theater to support Robert Downey Jr’s iconic Marvel superhero alter ego on its first weekend out.

After the events of New York where Iron Man almost lost his life in the wormhole, Tony becomes obsessed with improving his suits in order to protect the people that he loves from harm’s way (read: Pepper). But a terrorist who calls himself The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) suddenly shows up causing explosions to happen in different parts of the US, as if to send a message to the President. As Happy (now the newly minted chief of security at Stark Inc.) sniffs around a suspicious scientist named Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) whom he recognizes from an encounter with him and Tony decades ago, he almost loses his life to an explosion of unknown origin and Tony takes it upon himself to challenge The Mandarin, whom he believes to be responsible for the expl0sions, to a showdown. Big mistake, as it turns out, because Mandarin gladly takes him up on his offer and attacks him in his home. With the world believing that Iron Man died in the hands of the villain, Tony must work with his wits and save the world from danger anew with the only tools he has left and the help of  a pint sized sidekick, Harley (Ty Simpkins) and his best bud Col. James Rhodes, or the Iron Patriot (formerly known as War Machine).

The third installment to the franchise is quite different from the first two mainly because it does not present Tony Stark as an ultra confident billionaire/superhero but rather as a person with imperfections. This sequel presents Tony in a different light, not devoid of sarcasm and humor but rather a person who is uncertain and afraid of losing the person he loves most. This vulnerability, which Robert Downey Jr. depicts brilliantly allows the audiences to connect to the character on a deeper level and care for him more. It shows him on a more mature light wherein he takes responsibility for his mistakes and deals with them the best way that he could.

The pacing for this movie was a bit slower than the first two because of the dramatic component of the film. However, it was not lacking in cool action scenes and new innovations to the Iron Men suits (yes, plural) But what I liked  best from this episode was the throwback to the time when Tony was in the cave in the first chapter, where equipped with only a few tools, he was able save his own life by creating a device that would keep shrapnels away from his heart — the device that allows him to power the Iron Man suit. This time, Tony has no choice but to Mcgyver his way to Pepper’s rescue with a few powertools from the local hardware, trade wisecracks at a 12 year old small town boy (who was adorable, by the way), and rely on his trusty assistant Jarvis.

Fanboys will get a field day from all of the versions of Iron Man suits that were on parade for this sequel but I guess there will be those that would feel differently about the major change in the Mandarin’s origins in the storyline. While the presentation did make sense, I felt that this movie, despite being kickass as a standalone, was not as fun as the previous two movies. Props to Shane Black who did well in the director’s seat but I liked it better when Jon Favreau was directing the franchise. I felt that the stories were stronger and simpler and more relateable to fans and kids alike.

All in all, I had a great time watching Iron Man’s third outing. I’m looking forward to more sightings of this dynamic superhero on the next Avengers movie.

Missing You (I Miss You) : Korean Drama Review

After seeing Park Yoochun in Sungkyungkwan Scandal, I could not help myself from lining up his dramas on my TBW pile. After learning that he recently starred in this drama with Yoon Eun Hye (Princess Hours, Coffee Prince), I resolved to see it immediately. Be warned though that Missing you (I miss you) is far different from early dramas featuring these two fine actors but the results made for one very compelling 21 episode drama.

Lee Su Yeon (Eun Hye) is a 15 year old girl who becomes an outcast in the aftermath of her abusive father’s execution for the murder. She is bullied in school for being a murderer’s daughter, and her mother seems not to care about her at all, given all they have been through. Han Jung Woo (Yoochun), on the other hand, is a a priviledged 15 year old boy who returns to Seoul after years of studying the the US to be with his father, who cares more about money than his family. Despite their differences in status, the two form a bond and fall in love with each other, a love that is cut short when they are kidnapped and Jung Woo is made to believe that Su Yeon was killed after she was raped by their captors. Believing that Su Yeon is still alive and vowing to find her, Jung Woo pursues a career in law enforcement and waits for 14 years before he comes across fashion designer Zoe Lou, whom he recognizes as his long lost love. But complications stand in the way as Zoe is committed to a relationship with billionaire Harry Borrison, and is still embittered by her past ordeal.

Missing You is different from Yoochun and Eun Hye’s past dramas mainly because this story is super heavy drama. The story is darker and more complex than other Korean dramas and even the experiences of teenagers from the first four episodes were heart wrenching. I loved the casting for this series. I believe this is one of the most well put together cast in terms of television dramas from the actors playing the young Su Yeon and Jung Woo (Kim So Hyun and Yeo Jin Goo) until they grew up to be the main leads. I loved the chemistry between the kids and the chemistry between the adults as well.

Yoochun  has proven himself once again to be a versatile actor, balancing out his dramatic prowess, his sweet and romantic side and funny side effortlessly. One can truly feel his suffering just by looking into his eyes and his boyish charm shines through when he interacts with Eun Hye and her mother , played Song Ok Sook (Winter Sonata). Yoo Seung Ho (Operation Proposal), who played Harry Borrison, the bipolar billionaire, on the other hand, was such a cutie. He had such an innocent face and even though most of the time, he was plotting something diabolical, his angelic face and his backstory will give viewers pause, debating with themselves whether to love him for being so vulnerable or hate him for standing in the way of true love. Eun Hye, for her part did great justice to her role, but I like her best playing characters with a bit of sass.

Despite a lot of shoddy policework, and overly emotional members of the Gangnam Police Force (which provided much of the humor for the piece), I liked the progression of this drama in the sense that the backstory was entirely fleshed out to make audiences understand the motivations behind the actions of the characters. I also liked the consistency in the acting of the child actors with their adult versions. The kids looked a lot like their adult counterparts,  and their mannerisms were adopted by their 29 year old versions seamlessly.

I liked that the characters were not portrayed as superhuman, but rather as regular individuals who became victims of extraordinary circumstances. The revelations were made gradually so that audiences move on with the characters from the events that happened in the story 14 years ago. They understand how strong the bond is between Su Yeon and Jung Woo. They understand how Harry became the way that he was. They understand the characters’ flaws and how they get past the nightmares and choose to be together despite the odds not being in their favor.

Missing you is a story about how revenge can corrupt the purest of hearts and stand between two people destined for each other. Missing you is a story about enduring love. It is a tale of sorrow and regret and at the same time, it is also talks about hope and second chances. While the flashbacks were a bit much for me, I must admit that it lent consistency to the drama as well as worked for establishing the parallelisms between the past and the present. Missing you is definitely a drama that is not be missed. When watching this drama though, it is best to be armed with a hanky. The waterworks are sure to follow.

Spartacus War of the Damned: Finale Review

When Andy Whitfield died, everybody wondered what would become of the Starz megahit series Spartacus. Andy after all, carried the title role. Throughout his bout with illness, producers, writers and cast members left the door open for his return, coming up with a prequel (Gods of the Arena).  After his passing, they stayed true to course and continued to tell the story of the champion of Capua, and his quest to liberate the slaves of Rome, long oppressed by their masters. Until the final episode of the final season, I could safely say that it was nothing short of genius.

The time has come for the final showdown. Spartacus and Marcus Crassus have both proven that they are an equal match in terms of military and combat strategy, with Crassus and his legions pressing closer to Spartacus and his band of slaves and warriors. On the other hand, Spartacus is also faced with the threat of another Roman general Pompei, who also commands a staggering number of troops under his name. Spartacus is determined to free the slaves and get them across the mountain to give them a chance at a normal life free from oppression, but he knows this must come at a price. With what remains of his generals and fellow gladiators, Spartacus faces the odds and calls on Gannicus, who has breezed through more close calls than anyone in the series, to “do the impossible.”

As the episodes continued to dwindle towards the series finale, I could not help but feel awed at the sheer brilliance of the writers of this series, for coming up time and again with ingenious twists and turns that would put any Roman general to shame. This, they managed to accomplish from building on the original Spartacus movie starring Kirk Douglas in 1960. The  story that escalates at such a level that even when one has an idea of how a certain story would play out, he could still not be sure of what would actually happen. Each scene is charged with intensity, especially scenes involving Crixus (Manu Bennet) before they go to war. Dude is seriously kickass.

What I genuinely loved about this series was that despite the brutality and the graphic sex scenes,  audiences connect to Spartacus and his people. Viewers who do not sympathize with their cause will be swayed by admiration for their ability to overcome the hurdles that cost them hundreds, thousands of lives. It can’t be helped.

The story progression from the time the Gladiators rebelled from House Batiattus and the time the series ended was astounding. The drama that happens within the camps of both Spartacus and whomever foe he is facing, also serves to enhance the suspense.  For this particular season, I enjoyed the plotting and counterplotting between Spartacus and Crassus and the mutual respect they have for their opponent despite serving opposite goals. The parallel showdowns between the two, as well as the faceoff between Gannicus and Ceasar in this final episode were awesome.

Another thing that’s awesome about this series is the cast. When they scream blue murder, they really do mean blue murder. I’m kind of thankful that the original Naevia (Lesley Ann Brandt) was replaced by Cynthia Addai-Robinson because the girl seriously has some warrior genes running through her veins. Brandt played the part well but I doubt if she could have done justice to role of Naevia after she was discarded by Lucretia. And I must admit that while I had reservations about Liam McIntyre taking over the role from Andy, in the end, he really did do justice to the role. I also loved the evolution of the characters of Gannicus and Agron from a devil may care warrior tagging along because of his best friend Oenimaeus to one who dreams of a future, and Agron as a bloodthirsty slave out for revenge to a loyal general and brother to Spartacus.

BLUE MURDER, YOU SAY? Freedom! (in slow motion attack sequence). You seriously, seriously don’t want to mess with these guys.

I am super sad that this series had to end. This was one of the best I’ve seen “ever” because it was intelligently written, cleverly executed and it had a lot of heart. It dared to push the envelope and up the ante for other series in cable television. It was graphic, it was provoking, it was compelling. If there is one word to describe it, it was nothing short of EPIC. All hail the champion of Capua.

PS: I loved the end credits with the gaelic music as they paid tribute to cast members, past and present. I’m a bit put out that they didn’t reveal his true name.

Related posts:

Ode to Spartacus, Andy Whitfield 

Could Liam McIntyre truly be Spartacus? 

Spartacus Vengeance:Premiere Review 

Spartacus Vengeance: Eps 2-5 Review

Spartacus Vengeance: The Second Half 

Spartacus War of the Damned: Mid Season Review